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During the trial, the man testified that his son, now deceased, had actually downloaded the child abuse files, authorities said.
James Simmons, of Freehold Township, was convicted on Wednesday, July 20, of endangering the welfare of a child and distributing child sex abuse material, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.
A July 2017 investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, along with NJ ICAC Task Force and the Freehold Township Police Department revealed that Simmons was found to be in a possession of a USB thumb drive with over 100 videos depicting the sexual abuse of a child, Linskey said.
There also were peer-to-peer file sharing programs from electronic devices located at his residence on Harding Road in Freehold Township, the prosecutor said.
The New Jersey Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory assisted in the analysis of the electronic devices recovered from the defendant’s residence.
“It is imperative that we continue to do all that we can to protect our most vulnerable citizens, our children, from being victimized in this way,” Linskey said.
During the trial, Simmons testified that the materials and files found belonged to his son, who had died prior to Simmons’ arrest.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2023.
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